Ancestral Appratus: Opening Reception

A research-driven look at ancestral water systems becomes an exhibition exploring ecology, cultural knowledge and desert resilience on Miami Beach.

Ancestral Apparatus at the Miami Beach Urban Studios’ Washington Gallery presents work by M.DesR. Daniela Atencio and Dr. Claudio Rossi that examines more than 300 jagüeyes—earthen water reservoirs created over centuries in La Guajira, the desert region shared by Colombia and Venezuela. Through mapping, modeling and material studies, the exhibition highlights these reservoirs as living archives that reflect cycles of scarcity and abundance, revealing the ingenuity embedded in their design.

The project reinterprets the jagüey as both a territorial tool and a vessel of memory, connecting ancestral practices with contemporary approaches to representation and fabrication. The opening takes place on December 2 from 6 to 9 p.m.